(Opening Scene: Zane and Astrid continue their walk to the training grounds in Aetheria, the weight of Astrid's revelation about her father hanging in the air. Zephyr soars above, and Eclipse glides silently beside them.)
Zane absorbed Astrid's words, the shared experience of loss creating a silent bond between them. He squeezed her hand again, offering what comfort he could. After a moment of quiet reflection, Astrid looked at him, her swirling blue and purple eyes filled with a gentle curiosity.
"You mentioned your parents earlier, Zane," she said softly, her voice regaining some of its earlier warmth. "You spoke of wanting to know more about them, about shards and mages who wielded both void and storm. What happened to your mother?"
A shadow crossed Zane's face, a familiar ache of uncertainty and longing. He looked out at the training grounds ahead, the open space a stark contrast to the enclosed confines of his past.
"I… I don't know," he admitted, his voice low and tinged with a deep sadness. "I have no memories of her. Only fragmented images, fleeting sensations of cold and… a vast emptiness. But I didn't understand what that was until… later." He shook his head slightly, as if trying to dislodge the elusive memories.
"I was found, abandoned, near the Whisperwind Peaks when I was very young," he continued, his gaze distant. "The village elder who took me in knew nothing of my parents, only that I possessed a latent magical sensitivity. My affinity for the void… that didn't manifest until much later, during my first accidental voidwalk. It was terrifying and disorienting, a sudden plunge into nothingness."
He glanced at Eclipse, a silent understanding passing between them. "Eclipse was with me even before that. He was drawn to me as a hatchling, a creature of shadow and instinct. Our bond formed quickly, a silent acknowledgment of a shared… difference."
Zane paused, the weight of his unknown past heavy in the air. "The shards… the legends of mages who could wield both void and storm… it's all I have to go on. A desperate hope that somewhere, there are answers about who I am, where I came from." He looked at Astrid, his purple eyes filled with a vulnerability he rarely showed. "Perhaps… perhaps our combined power, this… dual sovereignty… it's a key to unlocking those secrets."
Astrid squeezed his hand in return, her empathy deepening. They were both walking paths shadowed by loss and unanswered questions, now united by a power they were only beginning to understand. Their journey to master their combined abilities was also a journey into their individual pasts, a search for understanding amidst the extraordinary circumstances that had brought them together in Aetheria.